Parallelism

Parallelism refers to using elements in sentences that are grammatically similar or identical in structure, sound, meaning or meter. This techniques adds symmetry, effectiveness and balance to the written piece.

Compare the following examples:

• Lacking parallelism: She likes cooking, jogging, and to read.
• Lacking parallelism: He likes to swim and running.

• Parallel: She likes cooking, jogging and reading.
• Parallel: She likes to cook, jog, and read.
• Parallel: He likes to swim and run.
• Parallel: He likes swimming and running.

In the above example, the first sentence has two gerunds and one infinitive. To make it parallel, the sentence can be written with three gerunds or three infinitives.

• Lacking parallelism: The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and down the alley he sprinted.
• Parallel: The dog ran across the yard, jumped over the fence, and sprinted down the alley.

The first nonparallel example, while inelegantly worded, is grammatically correct: "cooking", "jogging", and "to read" are all grammatically valid conclusions to "she likes." The second nonparallel example is not grammatically correct: "down the alley he sprinted" is not a grammatically valid conclusion to "the dog".